The L&YR electrified both routes from Liverpool Exchange in 1906 (two years after a successful trial of the system on the neighbouring line to Southport),[1] extending it subsequently as far as Ormskirk by 1913.

[2] The main line via Walton was also used by longer distance local & express trains from Exchange to Preston, Blackpool, Scotland and East Lancashire in addition to the intensive electric commuter service and some of these also stopped at Aintree, especially when the nearby race course hosted the famous Grand National meeting.

[1] Exchange then closed to passengers on 30 April 1977,[1] with services henceforth being integrated into the Merseyrail Northern Line and running via the new Link tunnel to Liverpool Central from the following Monday (2 May).

The North Mersey line lost its connection into the docks in 1971, though it remained in use to serve a permanent way depot at Fazakerley until 1987 and for periodic engineers trains to/from Bootle & Edge Hill thereafter.

It has seen no traffic since 2005, but Merseytravel has long-term ambitions to reopen it to passenger trains (as stated in the Liverpool City Region Long Term Rail Strategy published in 2014[3]).